The Sunday Life
Alex Marunchak
Agents warned to expect further attacks after the Palace Barracks bombing
MI5 agents at their Belfast headquarters have been warned to expect another attack from renegade republican terrorists and been put on a 'severe' category alert. This means the threat of another Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH) bombing attempt at Palace Barracks in Holywood is considered "highly likely".
There is only one category of terror threat that is higher and that is 'critical' -- meaning an attack is expected imminently.
The barracks explosion came minutes after midnight last Monday as policing and justice powers in Northern Ireland were transferred from London to Belfast after 38 years of Whitehall control.
The bomb had been placed in a taxi, which was hijacked in the Ligoniel area of north Belfast.
The Real IRA later claimed responsibility but retracted it after ONH fury at their opportunistic attempt to 'steal their thunder'.
The MI5 building is a 'doomsday base' earmarked as the secret services reserve headquarters for all UK security service operations worldwide.
The £40 million custom-built buildings in Palace Barracks, Holywood, will take over the global running of MI5 if there is a 'dirty bomb' attack on its central London offices near parliament.
The centre at Palace Barracks base is the second most important for MI5, after its London HQ at Thames House. It was opened in 2007.
By far the biggest part of MI5 in Belfast is its 'G' section, which concentrates on international terrorism.
Spy chiefs have made elaborate top-secret plans for the computer and IT systems in Belfast to copy millions of files and intelligence information if MI5 headquarters in London cannot function at full capacity.
The move has already been dubbed 'The FBF' -- or Fall Back Facility.
It means the 340 MI5 agents based in Northern Ireland will control all 3,500 MI5 personnel working in eight regional control centres thoughout Britain, as well as 32 other offices.
The Holywood MI5 building has the largest number of agents outside London and is bigger than the Secret Service facilities in Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Leeds-Bradford or anywhere in Scotland and Wales. Half of all agents working in Belfast are women.
The MI5 director general, Jonathan Evans, 51, a man regarded as an old-fashioned 'spook's spook'.
He is a 10-year veteran of the Troubles and was in charge of surveillance and undercover missions in Northern Ireland against the Provisional IRA since 1989.
Mr Evans was based in Ulster, but moved to concentrate on the international terror threat to the UK.
For the first time in its history, the Belfast MI5 office has also been recruiting agents who are from the Irish Republic.
Those recruited, who have dual British and Irish passports, have been told they mist sign a declaration undertaking not to use their Irish passports while working for the British security service.
And for the first time in its history, MI5 has been specifically recruiting language experts in Urdu and Arabic from Northern Ireland.
A 30-year-old man was last night being quizzed about the car bomb that exploded outside Palace Barracks in Holywood.
The suspect was arrested yesterday in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast and is being questioned at Antrim police station.
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